The EXTRA! EXTRA! Project
The last of my attempts to “make it” in the music industry. By the late 1980’s I was tired, almost broke and pretty much done with it all .With the success of a high school friend who had just got into the biggest band of the land at that time. He was nice enough to toss me a few bones of contacts. I was inspired to do one LAST try. This time I would take it all on to make the best recording I could. I sold everything but a few guitars and a bit of cloths  and moved back home with my mom. She believed in the dream. I pulled a loan against my Toyota truck and with a small loan from my mom purchased a well-used Ampex 2” 16 track tape machine from Modern Sound in Hollywood (located in the old RCA building). I basically spent the next 3 1/2 years trying to do my best Tom Scholz impression. Recording everything but drums. Working the songs out…sweating the details like is this song too fast or too slow? With Bill Hartels incredible musicianship on the drums it all came together and we worked hours ,days, weeks, months, getting the basic tracks down. I had taped a popsicle stick to my head stock of my guitar so I could hit the record function on the tape machine while doing takes.( I think I missed all the best takes..oh well) To my luck and literally out of the blue in walks Ken Vara into my life and introduces himself to me….act of god? maybe? His incredible “wordssmithing” and creative clever genius took this project WAY over the top and his sheer enthusiasm sense of humor made magic of these tracks of the songs I was writing . We laughed through this entire recording project. We ALL knew it was make or break situation. I was almost 30 at the time…..time tick-tocks away. We had recruited Rick Mclean to round out the project. He was a godsend , incredible singer and bass player…we were on a roll. We were ready to take on the world! Now comes 1992…..the musical world changed. As Maxwell Smart said -Missed it by THAT  much!!

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